Philippines / Pampanga (Central Luzon)

Kapampangan

Pampanga, the Philippines' culinary capital — sizzling sisig, sweet-savoury rolled meats, carabao-milk puddings, and a fearless way with offal.

10 dishes · 38 ingredients · 10 techniquesReference

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Signature·Dish

Sisig

Sizzling chopped pig's face and ears with chili, onion and calamansi — Pampanga's gift to the Filipino table.

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Pampanga calls itself the culinary capital of the Philippines, and its cooks earn the boast — exacting, generous, and unafraid of every part of the animal. Sisig, the sizzling chopped pig's face that conquered the country, was born here. The Kapampangan table runs from celebratory morcon and embutido (stuffed, rolled meats) and turmeric-gold bringhe to the carabao-milk pudding tibok-tibok, and on to the daredevil betute (stuffed frog) and camaru (mole crickets). Sour-savoury kilayin and tomato-braised asado round out a repertoire built on skill and confidence.

Start Here

Sisig

Sizzling chopped pig's face with chili, onion and calamansi.

Why start here · Pampanga's gift to the whole country.

Morcon

Beef rolled around egg, sausage and carrot, braised in tomato.

Why start here · The Kapampangan fiesta centerpiece.

Tibok-Tibok

Carabao-milk pudding topped with toasted coconut curds.

Why start here · The region's signature sweet.

The Pantry

Egg

See all 38 ingredients›

How They Cook

Techniques that define this cuisine

Smoking

Sisig

Sauteing

Bringhe Camaru Kilayin

Stir Frying

Pancit Luglug

Simmering

Asadong Kapampangan Bringhe Camaru

See 6 more techniques›

Other regions

Siblings within Filipino — each its own tradition.

Luzon

The Tagalog-Bicolano-Ilocano belt — adobo, sinigang, lechon Manila, coconut-and-chili Bicol Express, the most-traveled face of Filipino food.

Visayas

Sea-and-sugar islands — Lechon Cebu's crackling-skin rival to Manila's, La Paz Batchoy from Iloilo, Bacolod chicken inasal grilled over coconut coals.

Ilocano

The thrifty, vegetable-and-bagoong cooking of the Ilocos north — bitter-savoury pinakbet, glassy deep-fried bagnet, the crisp orange Vigan empanada, grilled dinakdakan, and bile-bittered pinapaitan.

Mindanao

Muslim-influenced south — Halal cooking with coconut and turmeric, Pyanggang grilled-charred chicken, Piaparan layered with toasted coconut, satti at dawn.

Bicolano

The coconut-and-chili kitchen of Bicol — gata (coconut milk) and fiery siling labuyo in nearly everything. Blazing Bicol Express, taro-leaf laing and pinangat, and coconut-creamed shark kinunot: rich, creamy and hot.

Cordillera

Mountain Igorot kitchen — Pinikpikan ritual chicken, Etag salt-cured pork preserved for years, Tinawon heirloom rice from terraced fields.

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